


Behind Your Back and To Your Face

by dramady, jeck



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician), American Idol RPF, Kris Allen (Musician), kradam - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-17
Updated: 2010-01-17
Packaged: 2017-10-06 09:29:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dramady/pseuds/dramady, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeck/pseuds/jeck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>COMMENTS:</b> slightly cracky AU; features a less-than-flattering portrayal of Katy.<br/><b>SUMMARY:</b> <i>When Adam finds out that Kris Allen isn't exactly the slut he'd heard all the stories about, well, that changes ... everything.</i></p><p><b>Disclaimer:</b> <span class="small">This is a non-profit, non-commercial work of fiction using the names and likenesses of real individuals. This fictional story is not intended to imply that the events herein actually occurred, or that the attitudes or behaviors described are engaged in or condoned by the real persons whose names are used without permission.</span></p>
            </blockquote>





	Behind Your Back and To Your Face

Adam liked to think of himself as a pretty good judge of character, but things came up all the time that proved him wrong.

Take Kris for instance. Totally cute guy, had that adorable southern accent, wore plaid more often than not. So Adam thought "conservative, nice guy."

Whoo, was he wrong.

Seemed that Mr. Kris Allen with the cute southern accent was _easy_. Like, if the word around the Cowell and Associates office was to be believed, Kris Allen could do things that even Adam had a hard time imagining. And Adam had an _amazing_ imagination, thank you. So at lunch, Adam held his cup of tea to his nose and watched Kris through the steam.

"I just don't get it," he told Brad, interrupting his diatribe against muffin-tops as a food choice. "I mean _look_ at him."

Brad looked, turning to look over his shoulder. "Oh. Him again. Listen. Alisan said that Ferras said that he heard that little Plaid Guy over there? Is equal opportunity. Animal, vegetable or mineral, he doesn't even care."

"But how?!" Adam shook his head. "I don't get it."

They both said at the same time, "it's the quiet ones." Then it was time to go back to work and Adam picked up his salad bowl to take to the counter just as Kris was getting up. Out of habit, Adam gave him a smile, but kept walking. Yeah, he didn't need the second-hand linkage, thanks muchly.

Adam was the only one who really even looked at him anymore. Okay, correction, looked at him _normally_ anymore. Everyone else had this expression on their faces that Kris thought meant that he weirded them out or something. Maybe it was the plaid. Or maybe he smelled even if he took showers everyday. Alright, maybe not everyday. Showers were a waste of time, okay? But still he was sure he didn't walk around rank and offending everyone.

Kris didn't understand why people avoided him. Okay, _some_ avoided Kris and some kind of made passes at him. Didn't matter if they were a guy or a girl, young or old. But Adam? Well, Adam was the only one who still smiled at him, so he smiled back each time they passed each other. Yeah. Adam was the only nice one to him now and he just didn't get it.

~~

Later that week, Adam had to go to Kris's cube to get some copy for an ad they were working on. He hesitated, okay? He wasn't too proud to admit that. So he made sure to make it look like it wasn't social, all work, okay, office gossip people? Just work!

He handed over the sheaf of papers. "Here's the outline and the plan? So, if you want to build the copy around it, we have to take it to the client on Thursday." God, close up, Kris was even _cuter_. He could hear Brad clucking at him from across the office.

"Thursday? But I have--!" Hmm. They already thought he was weird. Saying he went somewhere to play guitar would be the geeky choice and that would only add to more of the things he assumed the people at work said about him. Adam can just fill in the blanks there and choose which one he wanted.

Adam chose to believe that maybe Wednesday was free orgy night and Kris was too sore to come to work on Thursday. What, he'd heard something like that from ... somebody. It wasn't _that_ crazy. "Thursday. I can't choose the due dates, you know?" He shrugged - what can you do? And he stepped back to make his escape.

Kris's mouth opened then closed with a snap as he watched Adam's quickly retreating back. He sighed heavily and shook his head. The hell was that about? He knew what due dates meant and yeah, he didn't have a choice. His forehead creased between his eyes, looking over to where Adam disappeared and again he wondered why, even if he smiled at Kris, that he was distant, too, like most people here. Maybe he would never know.

~~

Wednesday afternoon and Kris was in a rush. He was still working on the layouts, leaning back on his seat, head back, rubbing his temple, eyes closed. He wasn't close to done, not really. There was still a lot of work necessary and he was tired already. But tomorrow was the deadline and from the looks of things he was going to be here all night. He signed and pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on and fast.

"Hey, how's it going?" Adam asked, walking up, arms resting on the top of Kris's cube. "You know tomorrow's the deadline, right?" God, please let Kris nearly be done. Adam didn't need to have his ass on the line. Again.

Kris looked up and met Adam's eyes. "Uh..." The expression on his face was telling, that, yeah, he was far from done. "I'll work on it tonight." He checked his watch. "I can stay and pull an all-nighter if I have to." Yeah. He hoped not.

"Ugh!" Ugh! Adam huffed out a breath. "In this economy, I can't really afford to lose my job, okay? How far, exactly are you?" That was all he didn't need; Simon Cowell breathing down his neck. Again.

"About two - three layouts left?" Kris replied, risking a look at Adam and feeling himself internally wince. It wasn't as if he wasn't working on it. It just took a long time. "I'll have them for you tomorrow. I promise. I don't have to sleep. Kinda don't get much of that anyway." Yeah. He was insomnia's bitch. "'kay?"

TMI much? Adam wrinkled his nose. "Listen. I can't get in trouble, okay? Cowell came after me a while back and has been watching me like a hawk since. If you need help, just say so. Okay?"

"Yeah." Kris nodded, already tugging at the collar of his shirt and undoing a button, his sleeves already folded to his elbows. Seemed he was gonna be here a long while. Kris then pointed at something he'd been agonizing over, tapping at it with a finger. "This one. I need ideas." Cocking his head he gave Adam a quirked smile. "Got any?"

What? They were working then? When people could _see_ them working together? Great. With a bitten-back sigh, Adam came around the cube wall and looked over Kris's shoulder. "What do you have for the other ones?"

Kris pulled a couple of things from the other side of his L-shaped desk, standing next to Adam, shoulder to shoulder, spreading the stuff out. "Here. I kinda wanted to do something like this but -- too similar?" He turned his head and watched Adam's face. He always had a friendly face. To Kris anyway.

"Is there such a thing as too similar?" Did Kris forget they were in advertising? There hadn't been any new ideas ... ever. Adam kind of frowned at him. "Just ... vary the theme a little bit. Like you have red here? Do red, but not here, but there."

His lips pressed into a thin line, dragging his eyes away from Adam and then back to the layout in front of him. Those lips turned down to a frown, shaking his head and pointing someplace else. "That's the thing. It's all been done. I wanted something original and can't think of anything. I need new ideas." His finger began tapping some staccato rhythm on his desk while he stared at the board in front of him.

"We don't _need_ new ideas! We just need ideas. It's not like a company that makes fake cheese product is revolutionizing the world, Kris." Adam nearly laughed at him. "We need our jobs. Just ... put something down."

"Just put something down?" Okay. Yeah. He needed this job and all but come on! Kris wasn't really the type who'd just 'put something down' without thinking about it. He needed to give a bit of himself into it, too. "I don't think I can do that." Which probably explained why he was always a little late when it came to deadlines. "I like giving things a bit more of me than what I can 'put down,' you know?"

"Which is _really admirable_," Adam drawled. "But see, I know about you and your tardiness issue. And I know about me and my desire to keep a job. So, I'd kind of like to emphasize the latter and not the former, mmmkay?"

Kris just looked at Adam, staring into his eyes, his own deep, thinking. "You wanna go eat?" He couldn't think when he was hungry and right now, Kris was hungry.

"Um." _No_. Adam's social survival instincts were screaming at him to _Run_. But he did want to keep his job. And that meant making sure Kris finished. Oh, bother. With a sigh, he nodded. "Fine. I hope you like sushi."

"Uh." He'd never really tried sushi. They looked real odd to him and he made a disgusted face, nose wrinkled and everything. "Okay." Kris had no idea why he agreed. What was _that_ about and how did it switched to Adam telling them were to go when it was _he_ who invited? Was that how it worked now? "You know a place?"

Good. Because honestly, if Kris was going to get judgemental on sushi when Adam had heard about what he did with on one of those glass bottomed boats, well there were going to be words. Adam went to his cubicle to get his wallet and he gave Brad the glare of "don't even say a _word_." Then he was back at Kris's cubicle. "I know a place. Come on. I'd like to see my bed before midnight."

Kris grabbed his jacket and followed while shoving his arms in the sleeves. "Hey. It's not like I don't wanna see my bed tonight, too, you know?" He scowled. Sushi! God. He hoped it wouldn't make him sick and stuff. He had to rush a bit to keep up with Adam's fast, long strides. Why was he rushing anyway?

Because. He didn't want to be _seen_ with Slutty McSlutterson, okay?! Especially when he was talking about bed! Ew! Adam hit the button to call the elevator, waiting for the car to come, take them down to the lobby and out on the street. Thankfully the restaurant was right around the corner. "Do you have to cancel a date tonight?" Adam asked, and he meant it to come out sly, but ... it came out more curious. So, sue him.

A date? "Well ... kind of?" With his guitar. He loved playing. He loved writing songs, too. No one knew that though. Kris cocked his head while he shoved his hands in his pockets. "It's okay. It's not like I don't do that everyday anyway." He shrugged his shoulders, too, just as the doors opened and Kris let Adam in the elevator car first.

God! T.M.I. Kris needed to learn this. Or Adam needed to learn not to ask.

They didn't talk in the elevator, through the lobby or out into the street. At least there, most people wouldn't see them. Adam pointed to the restaurant and said. "They have amazing sushi here. Once you eat it, you'll never be the same." Which, he thought, might be a good thing.

Adam moved like he wanted to get away from Kris now, too. Like many of the people in the office. Kris didn't get that. He swore, one of these days, he'd ask if he smelled. Not that he thought he did. He used deodorant and cologne, too. The fancy kind, alright. Not the drug store ones with the copycat names.

They get to the restaurant and Kris pulled the door open, letting Adam walk ahead, gesturing with his hand for him to enter first. "Never be the same huh? Should I be scared?" He teased, grinning really wide. Maybe that would break the ice?

Relieved, not scared. But Adam didn't say that either. He just shrugged as he slid into a booth at the back and picked up the menu. "If you've never had sushi, I can order some. Or they have bento boxes which are good. If you like your meat cooked, I'd go with that if I were you. Do you like hot tea?"

Kris wanted to flail his arms up in the air and tell Adam to stop rushing that even his words were like in a hurry to get rid of him or something. But he sat there, pulling the menu toward him and looking at it and it might as well have been in Japanese cos he had no idea what they were. "I'll try it." He flicked his eyes toward Adam. "I trust you." Cos, you know, he smiled at Kris. Well, used to at least.

Oh, sheesh.

Did Kris have to be so freaking _cute_?

With those puppy dog eyes?

Ugh.

For a second, Adam was tempted to blurt out, _did you really do two sets of twins in one night, twice?_ But, see, he wanted to keep his job which meant not infuriating the Pocket Rocket, having him storm off in a huff, leaving Adam stranded.

When the waitress came, Adam ordered tea, California rolls, egg rolls and a chicken teriyaki bento box for Kris. There. Done. He tapped his fingers on the table, at a loss for anything else to say; something that didn't revolve around Kris's epic sex life.

If Adam only knew that his sex life was far from epic. Just ask his right hand. Or sometimes his left. Anyway. "So, uh, you like sushi?" God. That was lame. But, see, each time Kris saw Adam smiling at him, all the more he wanted to get to know him. Cos he seemed nice. Well, until recently with this project. He ducked his head and was making random patterns on the table with his finger. So freaking lame, man.

"Um... yeah." Seeing as they were at a sushi place. Adam shrugged again. " ... so ... you don't. We ... here we are!" He tried to sing-song it. Help. "So ... have you talked to Katy recently?" Since everyone knew about the break-up. And now they knew why. What woman wouldn't dump a guy who admitted to wanting to do it with a horse?

All the rumors going around were happening behind Kris's back. He was friendly with a few people in the office. Like Anoop who would come by and watch the football game with him or Matt who worked in the mailroom and they'd jam now and again cos Matt was an awesome piano player. There were things about the three of them milling around the office, too. Well, if only Kris knew.

"Nah, man. Haven't heard from her." Which was good because when he admitted to liking guys, too, Katy freaked. Now she looked at him like he had some disease. He didn't like that. "Why? She, uh, said something about me?" Something he kind of didn't want to get out about the liking guys thing.

Look at the innocent look on Adam's face! It was _very_ convincing. He wore it well, too. "I mean, not at all," he added. "Nope. Nothing."

Whew! Good. Cos, you know, it would be real bad if any rumors spread about Kris. That office was unforgiving when it came to gossip. Like Adam here being into make-up and girl clothes. Someone even said they had pictures but that was as far as Kris let himself listen to it. "Oh. So, uh, you haven't seen her?" Because it was Adam who he admitted to having a crush on when Katy asked. Yeah.

Except at lunch about once a week? Adam shrugged. "Nope. Not really." Please. Adam was addicted to the stories. And Katy seemed to have an unending supply of them. Honestly! You couldn't tell by looking at Kris! You really couldn't!

"Oh. Well, if you do, tell her I said hi, a'right?" Because Kris was the kind of guy who wanted to be friends with everyone even if most times he kind of minds his own and stays quiet. "So, besides sushi what other stuff do you like?" Since they were here already, Kris might as well find out more about Adam.

"Um." Not the things that Kris liked, that was for sure! Especially if they involved more than two double-D batteries. Or industrial size containers of pudding.

(Okay, maybe the pudding.)

For the third time, Adam shrugged. "Music, you know. Going out, dancing. That kind of thing, you know?" Normal things.

Kris already knew about the going out and dancing. Uh-huh. He'd heard stories about the clubbing Adam did in platform boots and glittery clothes and the flamboyant guys he went out with. It was hard to stop imagining Adam bumping and grinding with another guy even harder to make it stop with Kris imagining the other guy was him. Gotta stop thinking of that. Gotta.

"I don't think I dance very well. Anoop wanted to teach me but it's hard to do that whole spreadin' yourself around thing he does." He looked up at Adam and smirked just as their drinks were put before them and now Kris had something to do with his hands instead of fidgeting in his seat.

"Oh, I bet you do just fine," Adam answered, reaching for the tea to pour it. "I mean." Whoops! Ahem. He busied himself Splenda into his tea. He'd have to keep an eye out of the innocent ones at the bar; they apparently were not only tigers but freaking _man-eaters_ in bed. Who knew? "So... um."

"Uhm..." Awkward. Kris tapped the end of his straw on the table to push the other end out of the paper wrapper. He toyed with it before putting it to his mouth and blowing at the open end. The paper flew quickly and hit Adam square on the chest and that made Kris chuckle, throwing Adam a playful grin. "So what kind of music do you like?" He asked, dropping his straw in his drink without skipping a beat, as if he didn't just do that - such a childish thing - to Adam.

But he _did_. And then he laughed. Which was, Adam noted, totally and completely adorable.

What?! What. It _was_. So, sue Adam, but Kris was cute. Since Adam was having hot tea, he didn't have a straw, so he took the wrapper off his chopsticks, balled it up and tossed it.

Where it landed in Kris's hair.

HAH.

"Hey!" Kris laughed even more heartily, tipping his head down and brushing a hand over his head. "Not the hair a'right?" Not that he cared about his hair which was a good thing because right now it stuck up in different places from where he had his fingers all over it, finally seeing that balled up paper fall on the table. "Takes me hours to get it in that bed head look, you know." Yeah, like, literally he was in bed for hours, he got up and that was it. His hair stayed that way.

"Oh, really." Well, that explained it.

Was Kris a bottom?

What?! Adam could be curious about this. There wasn't anything wrong with being curious about this. He just wouldn't _act_ on it. He liked to be rash/crabs-free.

Not that Adam had heard Kris had anything, by the way. But really, if he did all he said he would, well, it just took one time. So. When Kris peered at him, Adam peered back, grinning. Nothing to see here!

Except the sushi that was just delivered. YAY.

"So," Adam asked. "You've really never had sushi." Even as he was taking his chopsticks in one hand, pouring soy sauce with the other, then getting just the right amount of wasabi and ginger on a piece. "Ever?"

"Uhm. Nope." Kris watched with complete interest at what Adam was doing, curious enough that he shifted to the edge of his seat. "So what's that for?" His eyes kept flicking at Adam's hands (he had really nice hands and Kris kind of wondered since when had he noticed things like hands? The hell?!) and then to his face, his eyes. He was really good looking and close up? God. Yeah. No wonder he had a crush, right?

"Well." Adam brandished his completed piece of food art and tucked it into his mouth with a happy sound. Chew, swallow and then he spoke. "Wasabi is hot as fuck, but it fades quickly, unlike, like, jalapenos. The ginger is a little sweet and counters the wasabi. The soy sauce ties it all together. Like so." And he prepared another piece, holding it in his chopsticks for Kris to bite. "Just take the whole thing. It's too messy to try to bite it in half."

Uh. Kris kind of let his eyes flick from one side of the restaurant to the other because the resident gay guy just offered him food and well,Kris didn't want anyone to find out and they they'd say Kris was gay, too. Which he was not ... exactly. God. What a way to out himself with the office gossip machine if that happened.

Still, he met Adam's eyes and leaned forward. "I hope it's not that hot." Then he opened his mouth, taking the whole sushi in, letting his lips slide over the chopsticks as he pulled back. He chewed the food with this stupid looking unsure and expectant expression on his face that slowly slid into something more relaxed. He nodded his head and smiled. "Not bad."

Then he felt the wasabi. And darn it! That was hot so Kris gulped down his drink, forget the straw!

"... it's not really that hot. Just ... wait," Adam told him and he had to laugh. "What a lightweight!"

"Shut up!" Kris wiped his mouth and then gave Adam a weak glare. "Not used to spicy stuff, a'right." But Adam's laughter was contagious that he started laughing to. "I'm not lightweight either. Well, in other things." Kris jutted his chin out. "Just the spicy stuff." And alcohol. But no one needed to know that one.

"So I've heard."

Whoops.

There was Adam's tongue getting away from him again. He busied it by eating another piece of sushi and then said, "So... do you like it? Are you a sushi fan now?"

He's heard? What did that mean? Kris looked at Adam with narrowed eyes for a moment, thinking, maybe his board game prowess had made it in the office gossip mill? But then that made him geeky again. God. That was probably why no one but Matt and Anoop hung out with him. The geek squad. Awesome. He'd never get a date now.

"I like it. Do me one again but not so hot this time?" He pushed his plate, box, whatever toward Adam. "And you can have some of this, too."

"Don't tempt me, I love cheese wontons even though they have no redeeming nutritional value." Adam dolled up a piece of sushi for Kris, with just a _teeny_ bit of wasabi on it and handed it over, then he totally nabbed the cheese wonton. You snooze, you lose! "Sushi," he informed Kris. "Is ... like a couple of steps down from nirvana."

Kris ate the sushi slowly while eyeing his empty glass and hoping this wouldn't be as hot as the other or else he'd have to down Adam's hot tea. "Mmm." He smiled because it was good and he felt the heat but it wasn't the kind that burned its way down his throat.

"Sushi and nirvana, huh?" Well, Kris wouldn't go that far about the sushi even if it was pretty good. "That's what I think Chik-fil-a does for me." What? He loved that place! Kris gave Adam a lopsided grin and then took his other wonton and put it on Adam's plate. He could have it.

"... thanks." Adam looked over at Kris and his smile and that was the first time he began to wonder what exactly it was that Katy was saying because honest to God, Kris seemed just ... really _nice_. Anybody that gushed about Chik-fil-A couldn't be a total perv. That was fact.

~~

Back in the office, everyone was gone for the night except them. Adam had pulled up a chair in Kris's cube. "Okay. So here's what we have." The ad copy was spread out over the desk. "And you have your unifying theme of the red and the logo. So ... what's the problem?"

Kris rubbed the back of his neck and then let out a frustrated groan. "Anyone can do this you know?" He pointed to the ads. "It's just -- there's something missing." And he couldn't think of what that was. "What if we switch to black and white and the only color would be the logo? Make is stand out more?" He was glad Adam was there and that he stayed. It was nice having someone to talk to in this office even if it was about work.

"... huh." Adam looked over the copy again, standing up to lean over it. "It would be stark, that's for sure. Though it kind of looks like little like ... what was that movie? That cartoony movie? Sin City?"

Kris grinned. "Yeah." He turned his chair toward his computer and started fiddling with what was on screen. "Kinda like that but without the muscles and the sexy chicks." A few keystrokes, a few clicks of his mouse and there it was. He leaned back and pointed to the screen. "Whatcha think?" He moved over a bit, gave Adam more room so that he could see and Kris watched Adam's face, see his reaction and maybe, well, just to stare.

Adam was staring, too. At the screen. He put his hand over Kris's hand on the mouse to click between images. "... wow. That's ... that's really kind of cool. A little edgy, a little retro. I like it." Huh! For fake cheese no less! He grinned, turning to Kris. "Save it, quick, before something happens. Then print it out for the boss."

Uh, okay. So, Adam was holding his hand and he had big hands and they were warm, too. Kris's own hand kind of disappeared under Adam's and instead of him watching what Adam was doing on the screen Kris was kind of staring at Adam's hands. He really did have nice hands.

He had to blink and turn his head, looking at the screen and then nodding, "yeah, that's it." Even if he felt a bit of a pang at the loss of Adam's hand over his, he moved the mouse and saved it, clicking print before moving on to the next two so he could make the changes, too. "Two heads are better than one, huh?" The other two copies were printing now and Kris just sat on his seat, tilting it back and he was grinning at Adam.

"I guess so, though I just kind of said you did well. But if you want to give me partial credit," Adam said with a laugh, "I'll make sure to take it." He sat back down, leaning back and stretching out his legs. "Look at you. Making a deadline."

Yeah he made a deadline and Kris grinned sheepishly, looking down, tugging a loose thread from the hem of his plaid shirt. "Sure I'll give you credit." Like that was even a question. "It helps having you here to, uh, talk to." Yeah. Cos not a lot of people here really did. "I mean share ideas and stuff." Good save cos he did sound a little too pathetic there.

"Guess you can be in your bed before midnight like you wanted." Which made him think if anyone was waiting for Adam because, well, if Kris had someone, he'd wanna be home soon, too.

"Guess so." But somehow in the course of a couple of hours, Adam had gotten to where he kind of enjoyed Kris's company. "So, um," Adam asked, not really moving from where he was sitting. "Can I ask you something?"

Uh-oh. Why was it that when someone says 'can I ask you something' it was usually something you really don't want to be asked? But Adam had been real nice to him all day even while they had dinner so, well, Kris cocked his head to the side and watched his face. "Yeah. Sure."

"So um." Now that Kris was _looking_ at him like that, Adam kind of felt like an ass; he looked down at his hands, picking at his thumbnail. "The, uh ... the thing about Las Vegas ... is that true?" The story that Katy had told about Kris and five hookers. Adam _had_ to know.

Vegas? Oh, God. Kris sat up a bit straighter and his eyes kind of widen. He wondered who spilled. Was it Anoop? Matt? There were too many embarrassing stories out there about him and Las Vegas that he kind of stuttered when he faced Adam again. "Wh-which one?"

"Which one?! Holy crap, you really _are_ a slut, aren't you!? I mean, god, if you look at you, you totally don't look like it, but _damn_. Which one. That's ... Wow." At that, Adam stood up, smiling but shaken, running a hand through his hair as he started to step away. He shouldn't have been disappointed, not really. "I... uh. Hmmm. Wow, it's late, right? I'll see you."

And with that, he made a beeline for the elevator.

It took a long while for that to sink in because Kris couldn't believe that Adam just called him a slut. Where the hell did _that_ come from? "Adam! Wait!" He stood up and followed after Adam, his steps rushed trying to catch up to the longer strides. "What are you talking about?! Who said -- what did you hear?" He was gonna kill Anoop and Matt.

"Listen, okay? Just ... everyone knows. They all talk about it. You don't want me to actually say it, do you?" Adam kind of gawped at Kris. "I mean, you _know_. Because you _live_ it."

"Wha--?! Everyone?!" Kris shook his head. "How? Why?" Office gossip, Kris figured. There was no escaping that. "That's it. I'm screwed." Maybe this was why everyone was avoiding him. Like he had crabs or something? Wow.

Kris shoulders drooped and he hung his head, shaking it slowly side to side. "I don't live anything," he said, voice low. "But I guess you'd rather believe the gossip, huh?" He kept his head down but flicked his eyes Adam's way. "Not like I can change anyone's opinion. Even yours." He turned around and headed back to his cubicle, eyes downcast, looking defeated.

"What?" Truly surprised, Adam turned, watching Kris walk. "... you didn't fuck two sets of twins?"

He stopped walking but didn't look back at Adam. He laughed and it came out a little choked, dry. "Much as that would be awesome for my manhood, no, I haven't ... you know ... done _that_..." He gestured a hand in the air. "...not since Katy." Then Kris kept walking.

"You haven't fucked twins since Katy?" How twisted was _that_? Adam's nose wrinkled again.

"Oh," he said a second later. "Wait." Adam started following Kris. "You haven't ... been with ... _anybody_?"

"No I haven't!" And it came out an exasperated growl with Kris turning around and facing Adam who was surprisingly closer to him now. "Look -- I don't want to talk about my..." Kris whispered, "sex life right now or with you, okay?" Being the office slut was bad enough that he wasn't going to go on embarrassing himself more by admitting to a _lack_ of a sex life. No thanks.

"Go home, Adam." Kris turned around and walked away again.

Adam went home. And he called Brad and they talked for three hours about Kris's apparent lack of sex life.

"He could've lied to you," Brad reminded Adam.

"You should've seen his _face_ though," Adam answered. "He looked so _sad_. I don't think he was lying! I think ... I think Katy lied. I just don't know _why_."

"... do you have a crush on Mr. Plaid?"

"Brad!" Adam sighed, running a hand through his hair. "No, okay?" Not really, anyway. He wouldn't call it a _crush_. "No. I just ... I feel bad for him is all."

"Well, he sure as hell is being slandered," Brad had to agreed. "... they're amazing stories."

"Brad!"

"Sorry! But they are!"

Later, when Adam hung up, he laid in bed, staring up at his ceiling, his cell on his chest. Feeling guilty was _uncomfortable_.

The next day, when he stopped at Starbucks on his way to work, he ordered another latte. Just because, right? If it didn't work, well, he'd drink it. Yay caffeine!

When Adam got into the building and to the floor, he went by Kris's desk and set the cup there, just with a smile, then kept going to his own cube.

Why the heck was he even here? Kris wondered this for the umpteenth time as he walked, head down, from the elevator to get to his cube. He debated with himself all morning if he was coming to work or not (which was why he was late). But today was the deadline and he had to be here even if this place was the last spot in the entire world he'd rather be in.

He saw the cup. He stared at it. Then he raised his head that was almost level with the top of the cubicles to see who could have possibly left him a cup of coffee. He didn't want to think it was Adam because, well, why would Adam buy the office slut coffee, right?

Sitting down he pushed the cup away and then laid out all the things he needed for the darned presentation. Might as well get it over with.

In the conference room, Adam arranged the displays and then went to stand off to the side. As much as he wanted to take credit, well, he couldn't, not in good conscience. But when Kris got up to the front (minus the coffee, which, um... hello? That was like five bucks), Adam gave him a thumbs up.

Which Kris just looked at, his eyes a little bit sad. Yeah. Nice try.

"Mr. Allen?" Simon Cowell leaned back in his seat, fingers tapping on the the table. "What do you have for us? Please tell us you have something and you aren't going to waste our time."

"He's ... got a great campaign," Adam said, which it seemed like Kris was not going to speak. "Don't you, Kris?"

That seemed to work, at least a little. Kris went about his presentation, only fumbling the words a few times. At the end of it, he pointed at Adam. "We both worked on this and we both think it's a great campaign." There. Done.

He walked around the large conference table, past Adam and acknowledging him with a look and try as he might, Kris's lips still took a downturn. He couldn't help it. But then after that he didn't look back at Adam because last night, the reason he couldn't sleep and the reason he didn't want to come to work, was that he imagined what else Adam thought he did, of what he was rumored to be. It was too embarrassing, too shameful, especially because Adam believed it. Heck, everyone in the office believed it.

"But ... Kris did all the work," Adam said, more than a little baffled. "So, what do you think?" He smiled, big and dazzling.

The fingers stopped tapping on the table and Simon Cowell leaned forward. "Nice work, you two. Send it to Ryan. Back to work everyone." He stood, signaling the end of the meeting, then he was gone, followed by others, leaving Adam and Kris alone on the conference room.

"So," Adam said. "Good job?"

Kris had already stood up, gathering up all the presentation materials, his back to Adam, nodding his head. "Was the coffee from you?" He asked, still not turning around and not because he didn't want to look at Adam but because he was feeling so much shame. Shame that wasn't even supposed to be his but because of rumors he felt like Adam and everyone else had heard so much and thought of him so little.

"Um, yeah. I mean, if you even like coffee...?" Adam shrugged. "Maybe you hate coffee, for all I know. But ... I figured ... you know. It was the least I could do, since I, pretty much, kind of ... said and thought some crappy things about you that weren't, you know, _true_."

That made him stop moving, his shoulders hunkered down low, his head hanging from his shoulders, Kris looking at his hands for a long time before he even turned around. "You believe me?" He asked, looking up, meeting Adam's eyes, questioning everything he just said.

"Well, yeah." Shrugging a shoulder again, Adam came closer. "I mean, I was looking at you before and you just don't _look_ like someone who would, you know, like being chained to a bedpost. She just seemed so ... _sure_." He met Kris's gaze and said, "I'm sorry."

Chained to a bedpost. Yeah. That. It was Katy's idea. She liked to experiment, okay? Kris did it all, anything and everything - for her. And yeah, he kinda liked it.

Kris gave his head a shake and blinked the memory away, looking up at Adam and nodding slowly. "Thanks. That ... That means a lot." That someone believed him. But then what Adam said caught his full attention. "She? Who? Wha-? Who's she? Who's been saying all this crap about me?"

Eep. Adam winced. "... I ... should shut up," he said, gesturing to the door. "And we should get back to work."

His hand grabbed on to Adam's arm and Kris pulled him back. "You're not going to tell me, are you?" Kris's eyes were narrowed, dark and with a hint of anger sharpening them. It was obviously a struggle to contain, with his voice well controlled but his shoulders were stiff and his spine straight.

"Shit. Haven't I, like, done enough to eat away at you?" Adam sighed, looking at where Kris held his arm instead of Kris's face. Which, he had to admit, was kind of scary when he was mad. "That, and I'd really rather not get stuck in the middle, you know?"

Kris was not going to get an answer, he knew. He sighed, defeated. "Fine. Doesn't matter." He let Adam go, ducking his head and grabbing all his stuff again. "Damage was done, right?" Adam was the only one who believed him. Not like he could convince anyone else. He'd keep going, doing what he'd been doing because nothing else was going to change. He tucked the boards under his arm and headed toward the door. Adam was right, they should get back to work.

Well, shit. Now Kris looked like a wounded puppy. Not that Adam was an animal person, but it wasn't like he liked kicking small woodland creatures either. "Kris," Adam sighed. "Wait." And before he could chicken out, he said, "it was Katy. She was telling anyone who would listen. Okay?"

What Adam said slammed into Kris like a big freaking freight truck right to his chest. Kris even clutched it with his free hand, suddenly feeling like he couldn't breathe. He turned away and closed his eyes, shaking his head, and maybe a small pained sound even left his lips. "Katy?" His voice was small and choked. "But we're -- she's my--" He looked at Adam. "She'd never do that. That's a lie!"

See?! This is why Adam didn't want to _say_ anything, okay?! He huffed out a breath and shrugged his shoulders and gathered his folders. "Whatever. I'm just telling you the truth. You do whatever you want with it, Kris." It was Adam's turn to brush by and back toward his cube. It totally didn't pay to be nice.

Kris watched as Adam left but he didn't move back to his own office box. He stood there, completely dumbfounded and in disbelief. Katy wouldn't, would she? When Kris finally did move, he didn't go back to his cubicle. Instead, he left the building. Only one way to get this clear. He needed to find Katy.

~~

Kris didn't come in to work the next day after their presentation. He had found Katy and they had talked. It was probably the most difficult conversation they ever had. Even when he admitted to liking men, and then when they broke up, it still wasn't this, well, emotional. He was hurt and Katy did the crying bit and apologized and Kris never did have the heart to see her cry. He was hurt and he told her so. But still, he knew, that even if Katy told everyone the truth, it wasn't as if that would erase all the damage to his person already done.

Water under the bridge, Kris was thinking this as he walked back to work on Monday, walking up to Adam's cubicle with two cups of coffee in his hands.

"Hey," Kris greeted, smiling crookedly and then handing the one cup over. "Yeah... I like coffee." The answer was days belated, the smile he gave Adam was, too.

"Wary" would be a good way to describe the look that Adam gave Kris. Was he going to be called a liar again? Or maybe the coffee was poisoned. Kris _did_ have a very innocent face. It could be hiding most anything. "... good?" He eyed the cup and slowly reached for it. "... you weren't at work." Yeah, he'd noticed.

Kris leaned against the open doorway of the cubicle and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, his eyes not entirely meeting Adam's, looking down at his feet. "Had to take care of something." He flicked his eyes up, head still down, telling Adam what he wanted to know just by a look. He really didn't want to talk about the details of that conversation.

Oh. Well. Adam took a sip of the coffee, which, he judged in the situation, to be safe. And tasty. "Um ... are you okay?" He asked, because he really did care.

"I'll live, you know?" He sipped his own coffee, his eyes still on Adam. Kris kinda liked looking at him, you know? "You doin' anything for lunch?" Kris cocked his head and, well, the smile he gave Adam was a lot easier.

"Um." Usually Adam had lunch with Brad and they gossiped. It was just what they did. But because that's what they always did, then there wasn't really any reason that Adam couldn't go to lunch with Kris. Except that there was the whole reputation thing.

But you know what? Adam realized that Kris right was, right? He wasn't what Katy had said that he was. So. "Um ... sushi?" Adam asked, grinning.

Kris laughed, wrinkling his nose. "Fine. Sushi." Because Adam was right, after that, he was never the same. "Just none of that green paste crap, okay?" He swore he saw a few heads from adjoining cubicles poke up and back down. Kris resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Wasabi," Adam reminded him. "It's called wasabi. Honestly." But he was grinning. Sushi, right? Yay, sushi! He'd just ... text Brad to cancel lunch because who needed the shit that he would invariably get if he talked to him face to face, right? "So ... noon?"

"Whatever, yeah." Kris nodded his head and pushed off the short wall, slowly backing out to the hall. "It's a date." Yeah. He made sure they heard that a'right and then he grinned really teasingly at Adam, even gave the guy a wink. "See you at noon." Then he walked away. Let the rumormongers have a feast with that.

Oh, they _did_. By the time that noon rolled around, Adam had been messaged, texted, emailed and called. And each time, he hissed out (or, you know, wrote) an answer that people should be sure to actually question what they heard and not just believe it, mmkay?! Okay. It made him very hungry. He had his jacket on and was at Kris's cube at 11:54. "Ready?"

The last thing he expected, after hearing whispering whenever Kris walked around the office, was that Adam would be the one to come to him. Huh. Color him surprised. Kris stood up, smiling at Adam, grabbing his own jacket and shoving in his arms. "C'mon. Before the office implodes," he laughed, putting a hand against the small of Adam's back, guiding them both toward the elevator.

Woah, okay, touching?

Not that Adam had a problem with touching, it was just that Adam was, you know, taller. And ... he could walk unaided. No matter. He hit the button for the elevator and waited to say anything until they were in the car and going to the lobby. "So ... did you see Cowell gave us another assignment? I think he likes our work."

"Yeah? I think he does." Which was good right? Adam said he needed a job and stuff. And Kris, well, he kind of needed the push. "I think we worked well on that last one. You made me make deadline." He grinned. See? Kris felt better. Or maybe because he was with Adam and Adam believed him. Adam knew the truth. "Sorry about back there, a'right." He meant the teasing the office gossip people.

"Them? Pfff." Adam rolled his eyes. "Honestly, gossipers." (Shut up. He wasn't a gossiper anymore. He was _reformed_). When they got onto the street, he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "So ... when you weren't doing all that stuff ... what were you doing? I mean ... what do you do for fun?"

Kris cut Adam a look but he was smiling and then he shoved his hands in his pockets, too, walking while looking at his feet. "You'd think I'm a dork." He said, kicking at some imaginary thing on the sidewalk. "I, uh, I play the guitar. I write stuff sometimes. He and Matt from the mailroom? We jam every Fridays." Yeah. It wasn't BDSM night with the two of them like rumor had it.

"You do?! Wow. Are you good? I mean - " Adam laughed and shook his head. "Where do you jam? In public? Where people can hear you? I'd love to hear you. I ... I actually bet you're really good, huh?"

"I'm a'right." Kris shrugged his shoulder and then he pulled his hands out of his pockets, getting the door to the sushi place again. "We go play at this piano bar downtown. Small place but the crowd is great." Kris walked in after Adam. "You sure you wanna hear me play?" This was something Kris never thought would happen. Having lunch with Adam _again_ and him seemingly interested in what Kris _really_ did. It was ... nice.

"Why not, right? I mean, I may be able to say I knew you when, huh?" Adam smiles at him, though. Kris was so cute when his face lit up like that. "Just tell me when and I'll be there, okay?" He wasn't fond of that Matt guy, but he'd soldier through. Adam was tough. Or his nails were tough. Anyway.

"There's one this Friday," Kris really didn't mean to blurt that out but there it was, his insides a bit giddy at the idea that Adam's coming to see him. "Do you want to go?"

"Friday?" So far, the plan for Adam's Friday was "get off work, stand under a shower of glitter and go out dancing until closing time."

It was his standard Friday night plan; he liked that plan.

But Kris looked so _hopeful_ that Adam heard himself say, "uh. Sure. Why not?"

The smile on Kris's face spread over his face like a bright neon light that could be close to blinding. "Cool, man. I can pick you up." Which sounded a lot like a _date_ that Kris's stomach did this huge flip-flop he had to put a hand over his belly, pressing down. Good thing they were near the restaurant now because that gave him an excuse to look at the door and not at Adam.

He just kind of sort of asked Adam out. Maybe he could do this whole asking a guy out thing. And of all people -- Adam -- whom Kris has always admired from afar. Whoa. His head was spinning.

"Um." That was kind of weird, wasn't it? Kris offering to pick him up? But rather than look like a kicked puppy, Kris kind of looked like a puppy who'd been given the _best bone ever_ so Adam found himself outside the sushi place nodding. Agreeing to be picked up to go listen to Kris play guitar and sing. With Matt. "... do you and Matt carpool?" Adam asked, faintly.

"Sometimes," Kris opened the door for them, like he did that first time and ushered Adam inside, waiting to be seated. "When Matt gets lazy and doesn't want to drive." Not this time though. If Adam was coming with him, Kris was definitely dissing Matt. "We can meet him there," he added, ducking his head to hide the smile that he couldn't seem to stop from forming on his face.

Phew! Okay. Well that was one thing out of the way. Adam led them to the same booth in the back and he didn't even bother with the menu, just sitting, twiddling his thumbs as he looked over at Kris. "So, um ... what time on Friday?"

Kris fished his cell phone out of his pocket and fiddled with it a bit before handing it to Adam. "Give me you number and your address," he smiled, "I'll pick you up at six and we can go have dinner first. Show starts at eight." Kris hoped that Adam notice how he was wringing his fingers together, cracking his knuckles because he was so nervous.

Quickly, Adam typed the information in and before he gave back the phone, he called himself and then saved the number on his phone, giving Kris a grin - The wonders of technology! Then it was time to order and Adam just ordered for both of them again before settling back. "How long have you played guitar?" He asked, thinking _it's not a date. It's not a date_. After all, Kris was straight. Not even kinky after the rumors were dispelled.

If only Adam knew, huh? He cocked his head and thought about it, shrugging his shoulder then leaning back on the seat. "Since I was around thirteen. My brother got the guitar as a present and when no one was home, I taught myself how to play." He can still remember how addicted he got to the guitar. Doing nothing but playing until his fingers were numb. "Wonders of the internet and the library," Kris chuckled, making no big deal of it.

"You taught yourself to play? Wow. That's ... really impressive!" Said Adam, who ... couldn't play anything really. Unless anyone was still calling a cock a 'skin flute.' He was pretty fluent in that. But he bet no one called it that anymore. Pity, that. "Do you play other instruments, too?"

"The piano?" Kris said it like it was embarrassing or something because he didn't think he was very good at it. "That's why I hang out with Matt. He's amazing on the piano. You'll see. He's been teaching me a lot." He'd rather the conversation be steered away from him so Kris looked at Adam and asked, "What kind of music do you like?" Which he remembered already asking Adam before but they goofed around right here at this restaurant that it was then forgotten.

"Dance mostly, electronica? Lady Gaga owns my soul, but I'd sell it to be able to see Muse live. Oh My God. They are so amazing, don't you think?" Adam put sweetener in his tea as he answered. "I got to see Pink when she came through and I love her. Isn't she great?"

Kris liked the way Adam talked about the artists he liked. It was as if his face lit up and he looked, well, really nice. Kind of pretty. Could he say pretty because Adam's a guy, you know? "Pink is awesome, yeah. So's Gaga. But Muse? I think they're amazing. So you like dancing and stuff, huh? There's a bit of that at the bar but only for those who wanna dance. It's not like it's an actual club or anything." Since, you know, he's heard those rumors about Adam and clubs and dressing up and stuff.

"I can't quite imagine dancing to piano music, but who knows, right?" Adam smiled again, resting his chin in his hand. "But you just never know, right? Maybe the spirit will move me." Which ... well, Adam wasn't banking on it, but anyway. Their food arrived and he smiled. Yay, sushi!

The server was kind of cute in that Asian sort of way, okay? Kris kind of looked at him and smiled and mumbled a thanks before ducking his head to look at his food then up at Adam. Just a little bit fidgety. "Uhm, some kind of dance slow sometimes," he said, voice low, his fingers tearing the paper from the chopsticks he didn't know how to use. "They like it when I play slow." He shrugged.

"Oh, it's slow dance music." Well, _that_ made more sense. Adam nodded, before stuffing his mouth full of sushi and making Kris a piece. "You're pretty popular?" He asked as he chewed. "Do you have _fans_?" It was a cool (okay, funny) idea; Adam grinned.

"Do I have fans?" Kris laughed because, yeah, that was a funny idea only, well, he might actually have a few. "I dunno if you can call them fans but more, uhm, regulars." Like Mrs. Miller who always sat in the front and could be mistaken for his mother. She liked to pinch his cheeks when she got the chance. "I don't think they come for me but the..." He made a gesture with his hands that looked like he was tossing back a drink.

"But the ... " It was too much fun to tease Kris. It just really was. Adam held up the sushi for him and feigned ignorance. "The ... cheerleader practice?"

Kris made a face, his lips curling and then he rolled his eyes. "No, silly. It's the drinks? It's a bar? Kind of. You'll see. I'll point them out to you on Friday." He fumbled with the chopsticks, spearing instead of pinching the sushi with it.

"Easy there. It's delicate." But Adam laughed as he sat back. "This sounds like an adventure. I will choose my wardrobe wisely." Which was, anyone knew, the first step to success in anything. "Is that what you want to really do? Play music? Like, professionally?"

He was kind of wrestling with the sushi now and it looked as if the sushi was winning. "Yeah," Kris nodded his head, flicked a look up at Adam and then he gave up on the chopsticks by picking up his fork. "But it's a dream you know? Playing at this place let me still kinda live it."

"Just a dream? You don't think you could do it for real? Why not?" Adam asked, stealing the crab wonton again. "I mean, unless you really suck, in which case, well, keep your day job. Do you think you suck, Kris?"

Hearing Adam say suck and then take food in his mouth made Kris think of a different thing that word implied. He looked away from where he was staring at Adam's lips, swallowing because his mouth suddenly felt dry. "I dunno. Depends on who's watching. Some like it. Some don't, you know?" But then he met Adam's eyes. "I like it." The way he played, he meant. Yeah. That's what he meant.

"That's a start, I think," Adam answered, unable not to smile back. "If you thought you sucked, well, you'd be wasting everybody's time, so that's a relief. I mean, I love me my Friday nights, so I'm glad it won't be horrible." Actually, weird thing. The more they talked about it, the more intrigued he was about seeing Kris play.

"Uh, no pressure. Great. Thanks." Kris gave Adam a lopsided grin showing Adam he was just teasing. He knew he was okay. He wouldn't call himself brilliant or anything but he wasn't, as Adam called it, horrible. "Guess you'll see Friday night." He took the wonton off his plate and, like last time, he placed it on Adam's before picking up a sushi with his fork awkwardly.

"I have to teach you chopsticks, honestly!" Adam snatched back the sushi with said chopsticks, sets it down, then reached for Kris's. "Make an L with your fingers, like this." He demonstrated. "Okay. Now ... " He held the sticks where Kris needed to hold them. "Pinch."

It was like a shock of electric current that shot through his arm when Adam touched him and Kris kind of just stared a bit at Adam's hands, pale, long fingers touching his stubby, veined ones. Kris's lips quirked at the corners and then he tried to do what Adam was showing him, the chopsticks continually slipping from his grip. "Like that," he was very careful to lift his hand. "Or I can use a fork, you know?" He laughed.

"You _can_ use a fork, but you'll be _way_ cooler with chopsticks. Trust me on this." Adam tried again, guiding Kris's fingers closed around the chopsticks. "Now, pinch."

Okay. This whole pinching sticks wasn't easy. Kris tried with the sushi and his finger kept slipping from the end of the stick. A few more tries and he's slowly lifting that sushi from the plate, and laughter bubbled out of him. "Ha! Now how the hell do I get that up to my mouth?" Kris was grinning and then he was leaning down low enough so he didn't have to lift the food up any higher before he caught the darn sushi in his mouth.

By that time, Adam was laughing like crazy before throwing his hands up. "Okay, okay. That's enough for today. You're nearly breaking a sweat. Use a fork! Save your energy. Oh, God," he giggled again. "You are _so funny_."

Kris was chewing and grinning, trying to keep his mouth closed (wouldn't want to gross Adam out, you know? Before their first real _date_). "I forgot the soy sauce so I'm not even going to try that again." He shook his head, still chuckling.

He was having fun with Adam. Kris inadvertently made Adam laugh and you know what? He wanted to hear that again because Adam's laughter was too close to a melody Kris got caught hearing that wants to keep playing in a loop in his head. "You know what? On Friday, we're not gonna have sushi, I can tell you that." He wrinkled his nose and speared a sushi with his fork. Ha.

"No? Well, damn," Adam teased. "There goes my hope of living entirely on sushi. Drat." He ate the crab wonton just kind of watched Kris eat. Okay, Adam couldn't explain it, but Kris was getting _cuter_. Was that even possible? It couldn't happen, could it?

Kris would protest the whole cute thing if he knew about it but as it was, he had no clue how Adam saw him. If Adam even _liked_ him. He really liked Adam though. More so now that before and he was afraid it was already obvious. "We'll have pasta. Italian. Food you eat with a fork. Maybe a bottle of wine to go with it or something. Give you a buzz so you'll think I'm awesome when I play." Kris was teasing!

"I need to be drunk to appreciate you? I see how you are." Adam winked at Kris over his little tea cup. "You're sly, but transparent. I can see through you. I bet you're good, though, Kris Allen. I have a hunch you underplay yourself. Why?"

"I told you. I'm a'right." Kris ducked his head, looking at his food to hide the slight flush that crept to his cheeks at the wink Adam gave him. "Just didn't want you to expect, you know?" Another shrug. "I just love to play. A lot of people don't really get that." he meant the passion he had for music. "And don't worry. I'm not in the habit of getting my dates drunk." Whoops. He said the 'D' word.

_Two_ D words! Adam kind of just stared there for a minute, mouth falling open, then closed. "... date?"

Woah, okay, that came out sounding a little short, didn't it? It was just that Adam was surprised was all. He had suspected but didn't actually _think_ he was being asked out. "Um ... is it a date?" He asked.

Kris looked a little terrified. "Uhm.." Shoot! He slipped, okay? It had been a while, not since he and Katie broke up months ago that he'd even come close to asking anyone out. Give him a break.

"I was, uh," Kris blew a breath out and then he looked Adam in the eye, his own earnest, open. Here went nothing ... and everything. "I was kinda hoping it is, actually."

"Oh." And yes, Adam stared back at Kris, his own eyes wide and surprised. "... I thought you were ... you know ... straight."

"Yeah..." Kris met Adam's gaze head on. "I kinda did, too." He ducked his head again and started tapping his finger to a rhythm only he could hear in his head. Music always soothed him and right now Kris was just a little bit frazzled. "Took a while to, uh, admit it to myself."

"And then you got your reputation dragged through the mud. That had to _suck_." Wincing sympathetically, Adam readied another piece of sushi. "So ... you ... I mean ... have you had any ... have you been with any guys? Is that what made you wonder?"

"I heard stuff but I wasn't into the office gossip so I had no idea it was me they were talkin' about." Kris quickly looked up at Adam then back to his fingers on the table, strumming invisible strings. "Katy, she--" Kris sighed, "she didn't take too kindly to the idea I liked y-- uh, guys. And I haven't been out, like that, 'cept to her and Matt and Anoop know. They don't mind long as I don't jump 'em." Kris smiled then. "Told them they weren't my type."

"Well at least you have good taste." Or at least enough taste not to have a crush on _those_ guys. Adam could respect that. "Are you, um ... nervous?" He tapped at the back of Kris's hand. "I'm not going to bite you. I ... if you want to call it a date," he said, shrugging a shoulder, "I guess that's okay." He had dated some uglier guys, that was for sure.

Okay. So. Maybe Kris sighed a bit in relief. Adam didn't freak out or anything about the 'date' thing. That was good. Real good. He turned his hand over, catching Adam's and he held it loosely, kind of shy. "I'm nervous, yeah." Kris wasn't going to lie. "I've, uh, always liked you..." Darn it. Kris _really_ couldn't lie and now he was acting like teenager to boot. Could the earth open up and swallow him now, please?

"You, sorry, what?" See, Adam had been mid-sinus clearing with the wasabi and had kind of missed what Kris said that. He had to have, see, because he could've sworn he heard Kris say that he always liked him.

Which could, Adam wanted noted, mean a lot of things. Like, like-like, or like-whatever, you know? "What?" Adam asked again.

Oh, god. You mean Kris had to repeat that? His heart started thumping even louder in his chest but he made himself look up and meet Adam's eyes. "I always liked you," he said more slowly. "It's, uhm, why Katy got jealous and she broke up with me cos, I, uh, told her that." Kris was screwing this up. He knew it.

"Oh. No."

That was the first thing Adam said. He was surprised, okay? He kind of made a noise before he could form words again. "... Katy dumped you because you wanted ... me?"

Crap! "That came out wrong." Kris rubbed the back of his neck and thought about his words before blurting them out. "She broke up with me because she found out I liked, uh, you know... guys. Men. Whatever." He took a sip of his drink, holding up a hand, asking Adam to wait. He was nervous, a'right?

"Okay." Kris's cheeks puffed up as he blew yet another breath out. "I told her about being, you know, bi -- and she asked who it was I was interested in." Kris then pointed to Adam. "That'd be you."

"Oh." Wow.

_Wow_.

"Um." Adam set down his chopsticks. "Um." Nodding, he looked up at Kris. "Are you saying I made you gay - bi, I mean?"

Kris laughed because that was probably the craziest thing he'd ever heard and it was cute, too, coming from Adam. "No. You didn't. I've always, you know? I just never really did anything about it." He looked at Adam more intently. "Well... til now..."

"Oh." Huh.

This had to be one of the weirdest days in Adam's recent memory, no doubt.

~~

"So ... he's got a crush on you."

"Brad, that's what I said. What do you want me to say? Something different? He said he liked me." Adam shrugged as he painted his nails on Thursday night. "And it's a date, I guess. He asked me out. Which, I remind you, is more than anyone has done in a while. So, you know. Why not?"

"Um, because he's reputation _poison_?!" Brad rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Adam. Must I remind you that you're not exactly golden? And to hang out with 'I'm not really a pheasant plucker' Kris Allen is not the greatest idea ever?"

"You know what?!" Adam stuffed the nail polish brush back into the bottle and turned on Brad. "I think you need to shut up. Because he's a really nice guy and maybe you're jealous because he likes me and doesn't like you and we know that Katy talked shit, so just ... shut up. God."

At that, Brad blinked. "Well... look who's got a crush," he said quietly after a moment, turning back to watch TV.

"I don't have a crush! He's just ... nice. So try it sometimes. It won't hurt you to be _nice_, Brad."

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that.... "

~~

"You asked Adam out for a date?" Matt said with potato chip crumbs falling out of his mouth. "Isn't he, you know? Gay."

Kris rolled his eyes at Matt, looking at Anoop begging with his eyes to help him out here.

"You're an idiot." Anoop said to Matt and then his eyes went back to the game on TV.

A lot of help that was and Kris sighed, exasperated. "I'm kinda gay, too, you know. I like guys like Adam." Not like Matt or Anoop, cos he needed to make that clear. "And he said yes." Which still made Kris smile.

"You gonna have sex?" Matt, this time, grabbed his beer from the table and gulped it down. Which was fortunate because Kris would have slapped him upside the head.

"Shut up, Matt." Anoop says, fiddling with the volume control on the remote. "Don't make him more nervous."

And Kris glared at both his friends, getting up from the couch and walking out of the living room. "You guys are impossible." He went back to his room and closed the door, hearing the two laughing as it clicked shut. Darn it. He needed new friends.

~~

Friday rolled around and he was in his compact car, parking at what he hoped was the right address. Kris knocked on the door and waited, checking the address on his phone to make sure it was the right number. He wore a plaid shirt (no surprise there), tight jeans and his converse, rocking on his heel as he knocked again, louder this time.

"Just a second!" Adam could be heard shouting over the music that was playing loud enough to be heard through the door. And when he opened it, it got even louder. "Hi! Come in. I'm almost ready." Kris got a waft of hair spray as Adam turned to lead him back into the apartment. "So! You gonna rock it out tonight?" Promptly, he disappeared into the bathroom. "Ready to wow me?"

"Uhm." Kris padded around the room, eyes wandering everywhere and looking a bit lost. He wasn't sure if he should sit or stay standing so, well, he stood there in the middle of the room. "I dunno. Maybe," he yelled over the music, peering at something on the table. The hell was that? "Let's just say I wanna surprise you."

"Surprise me, huh?" Adam called out. "Do you dance and strip? That would be surprising." And, he thought to himself, kind of awesome.

"Not during Happy Hour," Kris answered without missing a beat, grinning at a couple pictures of Adam he was looking at. "Maybe after." Oh, Crap! Did he just say that? Maybe Adam won't take it the wrong way.

"Rawr!" As he came out of the bathroom, Adam grinned. "You're tangy. I like it." Once in the living room, he did a little twirl. "So, how do I look?" Clad in black jeans and boots, black shirt and jacket, complete with scarf.

The clothes look great, yeah. Kinda trendy and stuff and Kris felt suddenly under dressed. But what really took his breath away was Adam's face, his _eyes_. He had eyeliner on and his hair was styled differently and it just made his face stand out and he was beautiful. "Wow. You should've warned me that I might have to beat guys off with a stick. Maybe girls, too."

"Flattery will get you places. Just saying." Maybe Adam stood up a little straighter, because a compliment was a compliment, okay? Who didn't like compliments? "I'm your date for the night, though, remember? You asked me out. So ... " He reached for his jacket. "... ready?"

Kris kind of forgot how his legs worked and he was still standing there and staring. It took a while to make his brain connect with his feet and he nodded his head, even offering an arm. "My date. Yeah." He kinda liked hearing that, you know? Might even want to get used to it. "So they better have their hands off, huh?" Kris was not entirely joking. "Dinner first though. I hope you like the place."

Dinner and music. It was kind of a great sounding date. Adam locked the door and pocketed his keys and smiled. "I think I will."

Of course Kris opened the car door for Adam, jogging to the other side and getting in so they could be on their way. The drive to the restaurant was quick and relaxed, filled with light conversation until Kris parked the car and they were headed inside.

It was a simple Italian restaurant that was really homey with candles stuck on wine bottles and the inside looked like stone walls with arches and there were dangling lights that hung low from wooden beams on the ceilings. The ambiance was that of a rustic outdoor cafe, a little dark but not too dark with Italian music playing.

They were shown to a table by large glass windows that overlooked the street and Kris chose to sit kitty-corner from Adam instead of across from him. Better to be closer. "This is what I'm talkin' about," he said, grinning as he picked up the fork from the table showing it to Adam. "No chopsticks."

"You can use chopsticks for most everything, you know," Adam told him, but smiled. Wow, you know? It kind of felt like he was being _courted_ which was ... bizarre. But cute! Totally cute. And charming, too. "So ... what should I have? What's good?" He found himself leaning closer to Kris, talking more softly. It seemed fitting.

It was a good thing Adam was feeling that way because courting him was exactly what Kris was doing -- or attempting, at least. He'd never done this before with any guy so he had no idea what he was doing. "I have no idea cos I don't speak Italian but I usually get this..." Kris leaned more toward Adam, too, pointing to the menu, his eyes flicking up to look at Adam's profile. "It's a little spicy but not the wasa-whatever kind of spicy." God. What would it be like to kiss Adam, Kris wondered.

"Spicy, huh?" Adam looked over the menu, at what seemed like it sounded good. "I'm a fan of spicy," he said, turning and _woah, hi_. Kris was right there, close. Adam blinked, then leaned back, just a little out of instinct. "Um. Okay, sounds good."

Kris didn't move but he just smiled which was part shy part mischievous, if that were possible. "Okay. I'll get something else. We can share." Yeah. Slowly Kris pulled back, too. Wouldn't want to scare off Adam, right? First real date and all. "And, uh, I don't know much about wine and stuff but if you want to, we can..." He grinned a bit wider, "I'm totally not trying to get you drunk, I swear."

"It'll take more than one bottle of wine," Adam informed him. Anyway. God, Kris was _adorable_. Who knew? "With pasta? Okay." When the waiter appeared, Adam asked, trying to sound like he knew more than he did, natch, about wines to go with the Pasta Whateverigleri they were ordering. They settled on a red. There! Adam's job was done. He rested his elbows on the table and looked over at Kris. "Should you drink before your show?"

He thanked the server and then sat back, looking at Adam. Couldn't seem to take his eyes off him, to be honest. "It's okay. As long as I don't show up completely drunk and can't play or sing, I think I'm good." A little wine, actually, just might help to settle his nerves that were ever present from having Adam with him on this date and watching him later when he played. Just thinking it was nerve-wracking, okay? "So, uhm, I asked you out tonight and I just realized that, uh, I never even asked you if you had someone?" Yeah. Duh.

"How much of a shit would I be if I agreed to go out with you and was dating something, gah," Adam chortled. "I may be a lot of things, but I'm not that much of a dick." God, that was funny! He wasn't even laughing _at_ Kris, so much as at the idea. "No, Kris. I'm not dating anyone."

"Well I don't know how these things work!" He chuckled, too, cheeks pinking a bit but Kris thought it was funny, too. "I told you, I've never--" Yeah. "Sorry. I just wanted to be sure, you know?" And then his voice took a deeper turn, speaking quietly as he leaned in toward Adam again. "Cos I'm thinking I may not want this to be the first and last date." There he went again, spilling things he should keep to himself.

"Um, let's not jump the gun, okay?" But Adam's expression and voice were gentle. "Just ... let's see how it goes, okay?" They worked together; there was a lot at stake here; he knew that. No sense fucking things up at work if they just didn't, you know, hit it off.

"Oh." Kris sat back on his seat and, yeah, gave Adam his space. He was anxious about this because he'd wanted this for a while. "Okay. Just - yeah." Kris rubbed the back of his neck again, feeling the heat there now, too. "I'm playing like, five song tonight so you're gonna have to sit by yourself but I called and they reserved a table for you. Drinks and anything else are on them, too." A small perk he'd never had to use before.

"Oh. Wow." Adam smiled a little more brightly, bouncing a little in his seat. "Wow. How fun is that?! I'm a VIP!" He could sit by himself. It wasn't like he was afraid to do that. "I'm looking forward to it." Reaching over, he squeezed one of Kris's hands. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, okay? We just ... you never know, right?"

"Oh, pfft." Kris shook his head. "You're right. It's all good, okay?" He looked up when the server appeared with the wine and bread and that oil and vinegar things to dip it in and softly Kris thanked them. "The place is real small. But yeah, you're getting VIP treatment." He was kind of glad about that -- that it made Adam smile like that because Kris only wanted to see Adam happy.

"I've never had VIP treatment before. I'm excited!" Enough to eat bread, even, though Adam and bread had agreed to disagree. A consensual break-up as it were. But what the fuck, right?! Might as well have fun! He held up his glass. "To new friends and to music, right?"

Kris raised his glass, too. "Yeah. New friends and music," and somewhere down the road, he hoped, something more.

~~

Dinner went well. Adam, Kris would like to think, had a good time. He was grinning as he walked into the bar, guitar case in hand, Adam walking by his side and Kris was instantly greeted by a few people. "Here," he had guided Adam toward a seat just a bit off to the side of the small corner stage. "This is your table. Matt should be here soon. He sings a few songs too after me and him jam."

"Oh, this is nice!" Adam noted, looking around as he took off his jacket and slid into a chair. "I like it! Eee!" Kris might not have been nervous, but Adam was excited for him. "This will be great. I can't wait to see you play!"

Kris checked the time on his cell phone, nodding once. "A few minutes. I gotta get up there, 'kay?" He pointed to a lady walking around. "That there is Megan. anything you want, she'll hook you up." He smiled at Adam, lingering there for a moment, a little shaky now that he was rethinking the wine to be a bad idea because his stomach was turning. God, he was nervous.

Just then Matt walked up, clapping Kris hard on he back before hooking his arm over Kris's shoulder. "So, how's the date going?" Matt grinned at Kris then gave a smiley upnod at Adam.

Ugh. Adam gave a much more saccharin smile in return. "Great. The date's going great." And he stood up, too, knocking Matt's arm from around Kris's shoulder and pulling him close. "Hands off, by the way." Ha. Haaaa.

"You heard him," Kris shrugged Matt's arm off his shoulders, "hands off." And boy was Kris's grin real bright that it could light up the room and maybe even a few blocks down the street. "Now shut up about it okay?" He gave Adam an apologetic look but really? He liked - no - _loved_ that Adam pulled him close like this. God! "Uhm... I'll just be over there. I'll see you later." Kris pointed at the stage, turning to look up at Adam but not moving because, well, Adam was _right there_ and they were pressed together and it felt amazing to be this close.

"Break a leg," Adam said, caught by that look in Kris's eye. Stopped by it, even, watching him for a minute, slow to let go. "I'll, um, be right here. Watching."

Kris was very, very reluctant to step away from Adam but it was time for him to get ready on stage. He leaned in, went a bit up on his toes and then whispered, "I hope you like it." Because once he was up on that stage, Kris was not playing for anyone else but Adam. Yeah. He let his hold around Adam slip and he let go then Kris was dragging Matt with him. "Dude. Don't _do_ that!"

"Do what?" Matt shrugged, tipping his fedora down lower over his eyes, smirking. "Your date waits, man. Go play."

"Oh, you're just--!" Kris let out an impatient sigh and then shook his head. Yeah. New friends. Definitely needed new friends.

Walking up to the stage, he put his guitar case down and already there were scattered sounds of clapping. Mostly from Mrs. Miller over there and Kris smiled at her, hand raised in a small wave. He stood in front of the mic and strummed his guitar, tuned earlier and he was ready.

"How're you guys doin'?" Kris's accent came out thick, waving and nodding and smiling at the people who greeted him back. "I got someone here with me." He pointed to Adam. "Y'all be nice now cos my friend Adam here hasn't heard me play so y'all give it up for me so he'll think I'm good a'right?" He chuckled into the mic. "Help me make a good impression here." A bright smile Adam's way, then Kris held on to his guitar, looking down, getting into the mindset, into the song.

"_In the night... I hear them talk...  
The coldest story ever told...  
Somewhere far along this road...  
He lost his souuuuul..._"

Kris started out slow, a cappella, holding the last note for quite a long while, until he could stand it, until he could no longer breathe. His eyes were closed and his head tilted, his hands on his guitar, the pick poised and ready.

"_To a woman so heartless,_"

Then he strummed his guitar, hand moving fast and already Kris was tapping his feet, his shoulders moving, swaying as he sang.

Oh, geez. Adam couldn't help but grin. First, the call-out, which was adorable. And then, well ... Kris was _good_. Really good! And the way he moved was ... well, okay, so it was sexy. Maybe Adam had had a few glasses of wine, but that didn't account for the sexy. The sexy was all on Kris.

When the song was over, Adam whistled as he clapped.

Both his hands were up in the air, grinning wide and asking the crowd to settle down a bit. They were clapping so loud and it was overwhelming. Kris caught a glimpse of Adam and he just can't help smiling even brighter.

"A'right. A'right. Settle down everyone. I think y'all convinced Adam now. Thanks. I owe you all a drink but Megan over there don't pay me enough." He pointed to the pretty gal with the blonde afro and winked at her. "Aw. You know I love you. I'd play for for you for free if I had to." He strummed his guitar again, extending the intro to 'Ain't No Sunshine' until the crowd was quiet and then Kris began to sing again.

And he did ad copy during the day! Who knew?! Adam sure didn't. Kris's voice was so good! Soulful and organic and amazing, wow. Adam found himself resting his elbow on the table to watch.

Kris found himself continually looking over where Adam was, smiling at him, singing to him. When he got to his last song he took the guitar off his shoulder and went to the piano up against the wall.

"A'right. Matt usually plays this part for me an' I do guitar but we're gonna do things a little different tonight." Kris said to the mic by the piano after he sat down. "I've been practicing and Matt's been teaching me. I hope I don't screw up." He grinned at the audience then started the intro to 'Bright Lights.'

"_She got out of town  
On a railway New York bound  
Took all except my name  
Another alien on Broadway_

There's some things in this world  
You just can't change  
Some things you can't see  
Until it gets too late

Baby, baby, baby  
When all your love is gone  
Who will save me  
From all I'm up against out in this world

Maybe, maybe, maybe  
You'll find something that's enough to keep you  
But if the bright lights don't receive you  
Well, turn yourself around and come on home

Yeah, come on home  
Baby, baby, baby, baby come on home  
Yeah, come on home, yeah, come on home  
Yeah, come on home  
Baby, baby, baby, baby come on home"

Kris still had his hands on the keys, his eyes closed, panting because playing the piano always made him all bouncy on that bench that he gets tired a bit. He could hear Matt whooping and yelling and he blinked his eyes open, sweat dripping down his brow, the spotlight bright on him that he squints, grinning and waving at the audience.

"Thank's everyone! Give it up for my friend Matt, a'right? He's next." Kris gathered his guitar and snapped it back in the case before getting off the stage and heading to Adam, his eyes still adjusting to the darker bar.

Well, Adam wasn't giving it up for anybody, least of all Matt, but he did clap like shit for Kris, standing as he got closer. "Oh my God! You were amazing! How are you not totally famous?! Oh my God, wow!"

Kris was like night and day when it came to performing. He wasn't sure how that worked exactly but he was a lot quieter off stage. He looked painfully embarrassed as he gazed at Adam, cheeks flushed and he wiped his sweaty brow, then tugged his shirt just because he needed to do something with his hands.

"Uh, thanks." Kris sat down and shook his head. "A lot of people out there better than me, you know? They gotta get famous first." Adam looked like he enjoyed that and it made Kris absolutely giddy.

Sitting down, too, but kind of staring, Adam shrugged. "Maybe? I don't know, but you were fantastic. I think I need to buy you a drink, okay? Cuz I think I'm on a date with the hottest guy in the place!" What?! It was _true_. Fuck. Adam was looking at Kris with whole new eyes.

Kris laughed and with his arms crossed on the table he leaned in closer to Adam. "I don't think I'm the hottest guy here. I think you are judging by the way Mrs. Miller's makin' googley eyes at you." He teased and only to turn the attention away from himself. Kris wasn't used to that stuff and it kind of made him feel self-conscious.

"But I'll take that drink, thanks." Kris felt like he was floating and it felt good. So good he had to tamp down the urge to take Adam's face in his hands and kiss him. Yeah. That'd be a bad idea.

Adam raised his hand to get the waitress's attention, ordering for them both, figuring the waitress would know what Kris drank. "So, what's, like your favorite song ever to do? Was it one of the ones you did?"

It was Megan who handed them drinks, and it was hot tea for Kris with her saying its got a shot of something special in it, like usual. Kris still had no clue what it was. "Besides something I wrote myself, there is this song I really love. It's called Falling Slowly." He looked at Adam and doubted he'd heard it. Not a lot of people had.

"... from Once?! Oh my God," Adam exclaimed, jazz hands in full motion. "I love that movie so much! The unrequited love, oh my God. So good! And you sing that song?! Ugh. I might've just fallen a little in love with you."

"If I knew that was all it took to make you fall in love with me, I'd have sung that song for you months ago." Kris said, completely surprised at how forward he was, his smile growing and he reached out and took Adam's hand. "I'm surprised you know it." Kris toyed with Adam's fingers, touching lightly, looking at both their hands and how different they were, how he wanted to know if they fit perfectly like puzzle pieces if he weaved their fingers together. "Maybe we should watch the movie together sometime?"

Once again, Adam blinked a little bit and backed away. It was ... well, this was the full court press, wasn't it? And make no mistake, it was kind of amazing, but Adam wasn't, well, used to it. He was more used to the random pick up at the bar that became something for a while before it wasn't something any more. Kris's hand was rough with the callouses, though, and Adam didn't pull away from that, watching their fingers instead.

Kris cocked his head and watched Adam watch their fingers and then he pulled away. He didn't answer and maybe it was because he was coming on a little too strong. Don't blame him, though. He's wanted this for so long. Kris wrapped his hand around his warm mug and sipped, eyes on Adam. "So, uhm, I'm glad you liked it - me, playing, I mean. Thanks." Awkward. Yeah.

Oh, shoot. Kris had that look on his face again. "You were great. And I'd love to watch that movie again, sure. That'd be fun." Adam put on a smile, ducking his head a little to make sure he had Kris's gaze. "You're just really something. You know that?"

He put his mug down, looking into it, shrugging a shoulder before flicking his eyes to look at Adam. "I'm just me, you know?" There was no other explanation that that, really. "What you see is what you get, y'know? Only lots of people don't want to see." Like the rumor mongers in the office.

"Well, for a while there, you were super-interesting," Adam had to agree. "But you're interesting, anyway. You're ... not like a lot of people I know." He shrugged a shoulder. "I like you."

The smile was there only Kris was looking into his mug again before he looked up to meet Adam's eyes. "Thanks. Guess its not a secret that I like you too. I just -- want to get to know you. You're always interesting. People like you." Crap! He was rambling now. Geez. Learn to take a complement sometime, Allen.

"People like me?" Arching a brow, Adam grinned. "What kind of people like me. Gay people?" For real? That wasn't what Kris meant, was it?

"No!" Kris looked up. "I meant like in the office." Unlike him but then now Kris knew why that was. "People come talk to you and stuff." That was what Kris meant.

"Oh." Adam supposed he did have a lot of friends at work. He was a friendly guy. Plus the whole fag-hag wannabe thing. Whatever. "So ... if you want to know about _me_," he said suddenly, leaning forward. "Come with me. Somewhere else?"

"Now?" Kris looked around and his eyes fell on Matt on the stage already getting deeper into 'Georgia on My Mind.' He faced Adam again and nodded. "If you wanna go now, then we can go now." They've done his thing already and Kris thought it was just right they do Adam's thing next.

"Cool." Adam pulled on his jacket, stood and pulled at Kris's hand. "You'll love it. I promise." Well, he didn't actually know that, but optimism was half the battle, right?

Once Kris's guitar was stowed in the back and they were stowed in the front, Adam directed Kris on where to go, ending up in front of a neon-lit club facade. Kris barely had time to stop the car before Adam was stepping out. "Hi, Jimmy!" he greeted the bouncer as a valet came to Kris's side of the car. "You're gonna let us in, right?"

Jimmy just rolled his eyes and looked Kris over as he walked up, before slanting a look back at Adam, question in the curve of his brow.

"He's with me," Adam told him, taking Kris's hand again, then pulling him inside when Jimmy opened the door.

Music slammed into them, techno with a thrumming bass line. "Oh, yeah," Adam shouted. "Let's dance!"

Uh. Kris was kind of out of his element here. As in _completely_ out of it. He could feel the bass thumping like it was taking over the thump of his heart in his chest and the lights were swirling and bright and it made him a bit disoriented. He grabbed on to Adam's hand and he looked up, blinking rapidly but god, that smile on Adam's face -- Wow. He was beautiful.

"Okay." That was about all he could say because they were already headed toward the dance floor, Kris feeling strangely odd and out of place.

He was tugged right into the center of the dance floor and Adam twirled Kris around and started to move to the music. "Just feel it!" he instructed. "Just ... move however you want, baby!"

Easier said than done, really. But you know what? Kris wasn't one to shy away from things so he started to sway a bit awkwardly in front of Adam and only because, well, he really _couldn't_ dance. Well, it wasn't like he couldn't get into the rhythm because he could. It was just that he doesn't go out and do this stuff except maybe back when he went to prom. Yeah. Kris looked at Adam and grinned, his eyes saying, 'little help here?'

How adorable was he? Seriously. With a laugh, Adam tugged Kris close, sidled up behind him and slid his hands down his arms to lace their fingers together. Then he drew Kris's hands up over his head and ground his hips into Kris's side to side. "Dancing is sexy," Adam told Kris in his ear. "Just feel it."

Oh, shi--! Kris stiffened and for a long time he kind of couldn't breathe. And still a bit tense he moved, trying to concentrate on the music and not on Adam's body pushed up against him. Hard not to think of that, but Adam was moving them both and Kris had no choice; he let him. He even tightened his hold on Adam's hand. Admittedly, he really liked this. Like, a lot that he kept moving until he got into the beat of the music thumping loud around them.

"That's right. That's good!" Kris could feel Adam's grin against his ear and Adam let go of one of his hands to wrap his arm instead around Kris's waist, urging his hips back flush to Adam's, so they can sway together. "mmm," he purred. "Feels good!"

God, yes, it did. Kris felt the heat, too, between them and, well, other things he'd rather not examine too closely. He pushed back, moving with the beat and with Adam, turning his head a bit to lean his cheek against Adam's chest. God, he smelled good, too, that he found himself closing his eyes, still moving with the music. Kris was so totally screwed.

He might've even still been thinking that, when they stumbled out of the bar two hours later. Adam had Kris tucked right up against him. It was necessary! Shit was loud in the club! But out on the street, it was a little quieter at least. Especially once that ambulance went by. Yikes!

"Oh, God," Adam said, laughing. "That was so much _fun_, wasn't it?" Kris was fun! Adam kind of didn't want to let him go.

It was and Kris was chuckling, his head he pressed against Adam's chest, quite content to stay right there nestled to his side. He fished for the ticket for the valet and then he turned and faced Adam, hip to hip, not at all shy anymore. "I'd, you know, love to do this again sometime..." Yeah. He was asking for a second date, before he lost the nerve.

"You would, huh?"

Adam leaned down and kissed Kris. On the lips.

He'd meant it only as a kind of "okay, why not" kind of thing. A "this was way more fun than I thought it would be" kind of thing.

But a funny thing happened when Adam kissed Kris Allen. He kind of forgot to stop.

When Adam kissed him, well, the rest of what happened came too easy. Kris cradled Adam's face in his hands and he kissed back and deeply. He wouldn't have been able to stop if he wanted to. Well, until the valet cleared his throat. Kris stared at Adam for the longest time after he'd pull back. His lips looking redder than they were, his face a little flushed and well, Kris had to smile. "I'm gonna guess that's a yes." He slid his hand in Adam's and tipped the valet, reluctant to let him go so he could get in the car.

It was then easier to fall into something else, something more after that kiss. Kris reached over and the whole drive back to Adam's place, he had held his hand and he kept looking over to where Adam was sitting, smiling this stupid looking smile, he bet. God. It felt kind of nice. Amazing. That is until they get to Adam's place and Kris was reluctant to say goodbye.

"I hope you had a nice time." Because Kris sure as hell did.

When the car stopped, Adam looked over at Kris, a mix of amusement and something darker in the backs of his eyes. "... aren't you coming up?" He opened his door and waited for the answer.

Kris just stared at Adam unblinking and maybe he even forgot to take a breath in, too. Slowly he nodded his head, the smile lifting the corners of his lips. "Yeah. I'd, uhm, yeah... Sure." He turned the engine off and got out of the car, following after Adam to his door.

Unlocking the door, Adam stood aside to let Kris in, then shut and locked the door behind him. Don't ask; he wasn't sure exactly what he was doing. He was just kind of ... going with things. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Maybe water. All that dancing, you know?" Kris said with a grin, standing there in the middle of Adam's living room while he rolled on the balls of his feet. "Forgot to say earlier that you got a nice place here." Yeah. He's back to being awkward again. God, Kris was such a loser.

"Thanks." Adam touched Kris's wrist as he walked by, toward the kitchen to get a bottle of water for them both. When he brought them back, he held one up for Kris, dragging up his gaze to Kris's and just looking.

Screw the water. Adam palmed over the back of Kris's head to pull him in and kiss him again.

Kris had the bottle of water already in his hand when he was suddenly caught by Adam's lips. Screw that water a'right. Because somehow it ended up rolling by Kris's feet as he cradled Adam's face again and kissed him even deeper, pulling him down while he pushed up on his toes to reach him. Their bodies were pressed together, nice and warm with Kris slipping a leg between Adam's, their bodies now even more flushed together, hardly space between them.

Turning them, Adam started walking Kris back toward the bedroom, through the living room and down the short hallway. "I want," Adam whispered. "I ... I want."

He couldn't breathe that Kris had to gasp, pull back, look into Adam's eyes. "I-I--" Kris had no idea what Adam wanted, or what he wanted. He had no clue what he wanted to do except maybe to kiss Adam again. He took in a shaky breath and dared to speak. "Tell me what you want, Adam."

"I want you," Adam told him. "I don't know what you did to me, but God." Already, Adam was reaching for the buttons of Kris's shirt. "I'll make you feel so _good_."

Oh, Crap! His arms flailed and then they caught Adam's wrists, Kris stopping their movements even if every fiber of his being was screaming for it. "Adam - I-I-- I don't -- I can't--" He blew a shaky breath out and murmured, "I don't know what the hell I'm doing."

"That's okay," Adam answered, kissing Kris again, pulling against the grip on his wrists. "I'll teach you." Another kiss. "I'll do all the work."

"Adam!" Oh, Jesus. Kris couldn't stop kissing Adam back. He tried, okay? But god if felt so _good_. He was being walked back to, God, he didn't even know which way they were going, Kris was too busy moving his lips over Adam's, grabbing on to Adam's arms, his feet seemingly moved for him with each backward step he made. "Oh, God!" He was getting hard now, too, and that wasn't helping.

Finally getting all the buttons undone, Adam pushed Kris's shirt off his shoulders and down his arms, working to get it off. "Jesus Christ," he murmured. "You were hiding." Because, Kris?! Was _built_. Adam ran his hands down Kris's chest, lingering to flick his nipples to hardness. "Holy shit."

The brush of cold air made goose pimples rise on the skin of Kris's arms, his back and all the way to the nape of his neck. His breath hitched sharply when Adam began to touch him, eyes fluttering closed because, God, it's been a while since anyone had touched him like this. A long while.

"God, Adam..." Kris murmured, breathless, blinking his eyes to focus on Adam right there and with a shaky breath he reached out, a hand on Adam's hip, moving it over his body until his shirt rode up, Kris's hand sliding over warm skin. "Adam..."

"Shh, baby. It's okay," Adam murmured, pulling his shirt off, too. "It's all okay." Stepping close again, Adam bent down to kiss Kris again, starting to undo Kris's belt. "You're so sexy."

Kris stiffened. God! In more ways than one but Adam had his shirt off now, too and Kris was too busy _feeling_ to give where Adam's hands were any more thought. "Uhh!" Adam was warm and Kris wanted more that he let his lips slide down Adam's neck, lower, kissing along his collarbone.

"Yeah." Adam let his head fall back a little before he tugged Kris's belt from his jeans, letting it drop, then he started on his fly. "Kiss me," he whispered, leaning in again. "Kiss me."

Every touch from Adam was like a jolt of warmth for Kris. His body reacted, getting harder between the legs with Adam's hand right there, "take this off," Kris tugged at Adam's beltloop and then Kris kissed him before he lost any more nerve.

One hand braced his weight, the other Adam used to undo his belt and start to shimmy out of his pants. It wasn't easy, okay? He liked 'em tight. Like he liked his men, ha!

And yeah, Adam was still wondering what exactly it was he was doing, but they were in the moment now, and he was just going with it.

Adam's underwear got pulled down with his pants as he worked to kick it all away. It wasn't his best moment, but he got it done, still kissing Kris in between, his hard cock, when free, bobbing against Kris's thigh. "Yeah." With a hand free then, he could stroke _both_ their cocks, together.

There was some indistinguishable sound that came out of Kris and he didn't care how odd it was, how foreign to his ears. He arched his body, his hips started rocking, pushing into Adam's hand and his arms wrapped around Adam, holding on, feeling himself melt in the heat. "Adam..." Kris whispered, his voice sounded like a plea, right at the edge of desperation.

"I know. It feels so good, doesn't it?" Adam answered, words breathed over Kris's mouth as he stroked again, his hips rocking into it. "I think I'm gonna suck you off," Adam added, kissing along Kris's neck. "Yeah."

Kris mumbled something incoherent and his eyes closed, his head he tilted back while his fingers sank into Adam's hair. He'd protest if he could but everything just felt so good that all he could do was whimper and moan and maybe, just a little, he gave a small nudge down on Adam's shoulder, urging, his body pliant and yielding, giving in to Adam and whatever he wanted to do to Kris.

Adam worked his way down Kris's body, sucking on both nipples until Kris made a sound, then he moved lower, tongue following the trail of hair down. Kris's cock was ... really fucking nice, okay? Adam wrapped a hand around the base and concentrated his mouth first just on the head and the slit, licking and sucking just that for a while.

He parted his thighs further, his hip rising and falling in a slow rocking rhythm and Kris had to force his eyes open, look down, see Adam. He could clearly, _clearly_ see his lips wrapped around his cock, sliding over it, and it pulled a shaky moan out that echoed in the room it was too loud. "God. You can - drive me - crazy." Easily. Just like that. "Mmh, yeah..." Kris reached down, brushing hair away from Adam's face, wanting to see even if his eyes were hooded in pleasure, what Adam looked like when he did this -- when he made Kris begin to fall apart.

The way Kris said that, too, made Adam smile. Or he would have smiled if he'd not had something in his mouth. In fact, Adam opened wider and slid down further, far enough that he could feel the back of Kris's cock butt against the back of his throat. Then he started to bob, all the way up, then back down. Up, then down.

"Oh fuuu--!" Kris bit his bottom lip to hold the curse but it didn't stop the way he gasped sharply as Adam slid lower down his shaft. He kept watching, and it was hot and sexy and dirty all at once that he couldn't contain the sounds that kept slipping from his own lips. "Adam... Oh, God, Adam..." This was the last thing he expected when he picked Adam up tonight. God! It felt so, good. So good that his head was spinning. "I-I--" Yeah. Embarrassingly, it _had_ been a very long while that he wasn't going to last very long if Adam kept this up.

That was the whole idea, okay? If Adam wasn't mistaken, he did say that he wanted to suck Kris _off_. Which meant coming. So that's what Adam did, tightening the suction whenever he lifted his head up, maybe using his teeth a little for a nice bit of friction, hand stroking as well. He was wanting to make it _good_.

Both Kris's hands fell on the bed, fisting on the covers, tugging at them as he almost growled out each moan. He fought his hips from bucking and pushing his dick deeper into Adam's mouth, no longer able to look at him as the pleasure mounted, peaked. One last look down at Adam and watching him suck Kris off was the last straw and with a sharp intake of breath, Kris came, his whole body trembling as he spilled deep inside, oh, god, _inside_ Adam's mouth even as he could feel Adam swallowing him down, too, licking him until he bucked again.

Finally then, Adam leaned back on his haunches, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand before Kris could see him smile. Good, huh?

By the time Adam was done with him, man, Kris was boneless. He was panting and he couldn't move save for quirking a finger to bid Adam closer. "C'mere," he said, voice gruff from moaning.

Grinning, Adam crawled back over him and he licked at Kris's mouth, his come still on Adam's tongue. "How do you feel?" Adam asked. "Good?"

"Mmh." Kris replied, wrapping weak arms around Adam and pulling him down, kissing him again and to hell if he tasted like Kris's come. He was kissing Adam again. That was what he wanted. "You?" He asked, their lips still pressed together, Kris's hips he lifted just enough to press against Adam's erection.

That action made Adam groan. He rocked his hips forward again and reached for one of Kris's hand, wrapping it around his cock and urging him to stroke. "Yeah."

Wow. This felt, well, odd and familiar at the same time. Kris did what came naturally, stroking Adam's cock slowly up and then he gripped a bit tighter, down and up and twisting his wrist slightly, doing what he knew, to him, felt good. He watched Adam's face, and even his own breath hitched with each movement of his hand. "Feel good?" he asked, breathless, leaning in, kissing the side of Adam's neck, nipping at the soft skin there.

"Uh-huh." Adam's jaw tightened and he closed his eyes, weight resting on one elbow as building arousal started to tighten his muscles. "Yeah. Like that." That twist there at the end was especially nice.

Kris felt Adam's body tense and he held him closer, tighter, his lips sliding up his throat, to his jaw, taking his lips in his and kissing him deeply, slipping his tongue between those lips. Kris moved his hand more demandingly, urging the pleasure out of Adam, listening to they was his body felt under his hands, like when he plays his guitar, coaxing the music out. "Come now," Kris whispered, biting Adam's bottom lip and tugging playfully while he jerked and tugged at his cock.

"Oh, Jesus, you're bo - " But before Adam could even finish the thought, Adam was coming, whole body jerking with the pleasure of it, before he finally pushed Kris's hand away and slumped bonelessly back onto the bed. "Oh ... _God_." He lay on his back, eyes closed even as he pulled Kris close. "I totally had no intention of getting naked with you tonight. For the record."

Looking down at his hand, his fingers still slick with Adam's come, smelling sex around them, Kris had to drag his eyes away from it, then he looked at Adam. "For the record," he said, head shaking side to side, "I'm really freaking out right now." He smiled though, because this was the last thing he expected to happen tonight. He wasn't sorry though. Kris may not be used to something like this but this sure as hell was better than what he thought would be a goodbye kiss at the end of the night at most. "I still have no idea what I'm doing," he whispered, inching closer to Adam.

"You did great for not knowing," Adam told him, turning to meet Kris as he got closer, leaning in kiss him again. "Are you really freaking out? Because of the gay thing, or something else?"

"I'm seriously freaking out," Kris admitted only, well, he just _came_ and that kind of numbed everything else. "I've never -- with a guy before and for this to be with you--?" He wasn't sure if it was some fantasy come true or if he was in a dream, but, God, those kisses from Adam. He could live on those he bet. Kris was kind of tugging at the sheets now, trying to cover himself up, becoming self-conscious as the haze of climax began to slowly lift.

"I'm not that great," Adam reminded him. Well, he was _pretty_ great, just not ... you know, _perfect_. Having someone think he was perfect was a recipe for disaster. Brad could tell Kris that. Brad would. If Adam told him; he was doubting the value of that idea.

Kris looked intently at Adam, his eyes searching his face, smiling at him. "You're great to me." It was true. Adam had been the only one that still looked at him after all those rumors spread about him. Adam was the only one who found out the truth. That, to Kris, meant a whole lot.

Shit. When Kris looked at him like that, that puppy look again, Adam was just getting to where it felt like he needed to hug Kris. So that's what he did. He hugged him.

Then he made him come again. And once more before he got him out the door the next morning. Not a bad start to the weekend at all.

~~

But on Monday, Adam would be lying if he didn't say that he was a little nervous as he came into the office. Brad was right there when he got off the elevator and Adam showed him his hand. "Just. Don't. It was a nice time and you're not going to spoil it for me."

"You didn't call me back," Brad reminded him, arms crossed over his chest. "You should've called me back. Did you - " he lowered his voice to a whisper, "fuck him?"

"Brad!"

"What?! Don't tell me you haven't done that on the first date; you'll be a lying liar who lies."

"Fine," Adam said as he tried to brush by him. "But we didn't do _that_." Just kind of everything _but_ that.

"Are you going to see him again?" Brad was following him like a dog who thought Adam had stolen his bone.

"I don't know, okay?! Just ... I don't know." And Adam didn't turn around because thinking about it either way had his stomach in knots. So he drowned it in coffee and work. Or he tried to.

When Kris walked into the office, he had his hands shoved deep in his pants pockets, and he had his head down as he headed toward his cubicle. It was better that way, he found. Less chances of him seeing people looking at him all funny and weird.

When he did look up, he saw Adam standing there with Brad. He quirked a smile and wanted to approach only, well, best to not let the gossip hags sniff anything out. He gave a nod and went on his way, head down, watching his feet.

"Shut up. Not a word, okay?! Not a word." Brad had been warned. Adam stood there for a moment before going over to Kris's cubicle, arms resting on the top. "Hi."

"Hey." Kris was sitting down, looking up at Adam and he kind of flushed a little at the cheeks. Couldn't help that because he had a quick replay in his head of their time together that weekend. "Uhm. New project, right?" Yeah. Talk about work or something.

"Yeah. I guess so." Over the divider Adam watched him. Was Kris blowing him off? That would be ... really weird. "Um. How are you?"

"I'm okay... uh, recovered." He smiled knowingly. "You?" He wasn't blowing Adam off, oh, no. As much as he teased about the whole date thing when they went to lunch that one time, this time he'd really rather this be kept under wraps. Adam didn't need to be associated with the office slut right? Right.

Recovered?! It was that traumatic that Kris needed to _recover_?! Oh, hell no. The smile confused Adam and he frowned. "I guess I'll see you later. We have that deadline. Are you working on the layouts?"

Kris saw how Adam's face fell and he frowned, too. Maybe later he could talk to Adam and explain why. He gave Adam a nod and pointed to the screen. "I'm working on them." He stood up and stepped closer but not too close to have given a different impression in case anyone was looking. "Maybe we can talk about it later?"

"Sure. I mean, I guess." Yes, Adam was pouting. What of it? "You can show me what you have on the layouts." He half-turned to head back to his cubicle. "I'll see you."

God. Kris wanted to kiss that pout away and he took a step closer, his voice low. "Hey," he peered up at Adam's face. "We'll talk later, okay?" He looked around making sure no one was watching, no on looking though he doubted that, really. Kris reached out and ran the back of his hand on Adam's arm. "Later. Promise." He pleaded with his eyes.

Oh. Okay.

It wasn't like, Adam tried to justify to himself, that he _cared_.

Except that he totally cared. Adam smiled back at Kris; it got brighter the more he looked. "Okay." He took a step back. "Get back to work, you." They still had a deadline, no matter what else was going on.

That made Kris smile and when Adam was gone, he sighed in relief. This was not going to be easy.

Hours later, Kris pulled out his phone and sent a text to Adam.

WANNA DO LUNCH?

SUSHI? :)

YUK BUT OK

Kris hesitated and then added a :) at the end of his text then deleted that and changed it to a ;) which was, he thought, exactly what he would have done if Adam were here. He sent that text with a grin.

How cute was that?! So cute. Adam was kind of grinning to himself as he tried to do one more thing before lunch. He shot Brad the finger though as he got up. "Back in an hour."

"Pathetic!"

"Shut up," Adam retorted as he made his way over to Kris's cube. " ... ready?"

"Yeah. Come on." Kris was up and out of his chair and was headed toward the elevators in a rush.

Huh. That was weird.

For a moment, Adam just watched, then followed more slowly. What was going _on?_

Kris looked over his shoulder and slowed down, reaching the elevator and pushing the button. He rocked on his heels waiting for Adam.

The doors opened just as Adam got there and he stepped in, peering over at Kris. "... are you okay?" He asked as the doors slid shut.

He was leaning against the side of the elevator (good thing they were alone) and looked up at Adam, shrugging. "Sorry. Just -- people started talking already." He'd heard. At least Matt was good for something. "I just didn't want you to, you know--?" Yeah. The office slut remember?

"Want me to what?" Adam asked, frowning. "Think that we had a good time? That I ... kind of had a really great time actually. I don't care if people talk." Well, that wasn't entirely true, but it was true _enough_. "We know they get it wrong most of the time anyway. Right?"

"Look. It's bad enough what they think of me but you?" Kris didn't want to think about what they could possibly say about Adam. "I just don't want you to feel what I feel. I don't want anyone to say anything bad about you." That there was the reason. "I've heard 'em say I'm like poison. Even I wouldn't want you associated with that."

"Poison?! Oh, please." They were getting close to the lobby, but Adam stepped close to Kris, tilting his chin up to catch his eye. "That's bullshit and you know it. Don't worry about me, okay?" Yeah, it sounded weird coming from Adam. A guy can change, okay?

His heart began to pound loud in his chest at having Adam that near. Kris tilted his face up, his eyes flicking from Adam's eyes to his lips. "Be sure. Because they _will_ talk." If they haven't already. "I care, okay? About you."

The elevator doors opened and Adam looked down at Kris.

It was so _strange_. But somewhere in the process of all the rumors and the date-not-a-date, and the night they spent together, Adam cared too.

He didn't move and the elevator doors shut again. Adam leaned in even further, cupping Kris's face and kissing him. Yeah, he was sure.

~~

"Did I mention how he brought me flowers?" Adam asked, chin resting in his hand. "He totally brought me _flowers_."

Brad's eyerolling was nearly audible. "You told me. Twelve times. You're reaching 'pathetic' on the scale, down from 'mildly annoying.' In case you were curious."

"I don't care. Because he brought me flowers. And he's sweet and he's sexy as fuck. Who knew?! Who knew. Ugh." Sighing, Adam smiled at nothing at all. "He's coming over in half an hour. We're going to watch movies."

"Oh, good." Brad rolled his eyes again. "I now know when I'm leaving. I don't need a diabetic coma."

"You're just jealous," Adam answered. "I'm going to go freshen up. My boyfriend will be here soon."

As Kris was driving in his little compact car toward Adam's place, he was thinking how odd things happened. How weird the way fate brought things together and it just all fell into place. The thing that someone hoped would pull them apart was the very same thing that brought him and Adam together.

Oh, there were rumors, still, in their workplace. Bigger and better now with Adam and Kris decidedly coming out as a couple. Not as wild as Kris with two sets of twins he'd done in one night, but just as colorful, just as freaking ridiculous.

They laugh about it now. It was a lot easier to take, a lot easier to hear now that he had someone that knew the truth. They were fading fast, too. People were getting tired of talking about the office slut-not-a-slut because he had a boyfriend now. There was even gossip of Adam being the one to turn Kris away from all that sluttiness and sex and stuff. Funniest thing, that, but better than Adam being one of Kris's prey.

He pulled up the driveway and parked his car, whistling as he got to the door. Kris had take out with him, rented movies (Once was in there, uh-huh) and yeah, dessert, too, because Adam liked sweet stuff. He knocked and waited, smiling already.

When the door opened, Adam smiled at Kris, pulling him inside and shutting the door. He helped Kris set things down (always so thoughtful with the food!), then Adam cupped his face, pulling him close to kiss him.

Kris smiled into the kiss, falling deep into it, his head tilted up and him on his toes while his arms wrap around Adam's middle. "Hi," he said, finally, when they moved apart.

Adam grinned back, unable to help it. Forget the rumor about the twins, or the pudding (for now, anyway - they'd revisit pudding), or anything else. This was what Adam knew. He knew that Kris was a truly nice guy. And he knew that Kris was his boyfriend. Who cared about the rest? Not _him_. And Kris? Well, Kris learned not to care about the rumors either.


End file.
